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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22469548">Myrtle Serpents</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clefabled/pseuds/Clefabled'>Clefabled</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>My First Work in This Fandom, OC/OC - Freeform, Other, This is really bad oof, i hope you like ocs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 09:14:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,962</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22469548</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clefabled/pseuds/Clefabled</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After arriving at Garreg Mach Monastery and becoming the Professor of the Black Eagles, Byleth settles well into her position. She goes about her teacherly duties day by day, and does missions as they arise...but in her downtime, she begins to meet strange faces she hasn't met before; one of which is a mysterious hooded figure with a fiery personality and nowhere to sleep.<br/>Over time, Byleth can't help but grow closer to these odd residents of the monastery; and in time, she falls down the rabbit hole that is where the land they hail from.<br/>Despite not being an official house of the Officers Academy, they do take the liberty to give themselves a name...the Myrtle Serpents!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>My Unit/Byleth x OC, OC/OC</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Cloaked Knight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hihihi! It's me, back from the grave! I've been playing a LOT of Fire Emblem: Three Houses over the past few months, and was unable to suppress the need to write my own story for the amazing world it built!<br/>This is only really the first draft or so, so I will go back and restructure things eventually, but...well, I wanted to post this somewhere so that I could get critique from the community! I'm going to have to work out this website's interface better as I plan for this to have a lotta chapters, so um...yeah :)<br/>Okay, that's enough rambling, I hope you enjoy this...thing I made :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Since starting her work as a professor at Garreg Mach, moments of reprieve had been rare. Not that she longed for them often, she already loved her students dearly, but this was needed. It was a temperate night, with no piercing wind or debilitating heat; the perfect kind of eve to have an aimless wander.<br/>
The monastery was a beautifully ornate building, with its off-white brickwork and spires as far as the eye could see, often surrounded by Pegasi and excitable students. But at this time of night, none of that din was around, so Byleth could finally appreciate her place of residence more fully. Though no distinct breeze blew, the flags bearing the Crest of Seiros still fluttered idly in the evening air, making the gentlest of noises as the moved.<br/>
Gentle, sleepy meows of cats could be heard from a while off; they absolutely covered Garreg Mach, much to the delight of many…and the disdain of others. Byleth liked them, herself, and often spent her odd free minutes giving them the scraps she had. The dogs, too, were rampant, and they too got whatever Byleth happened to have on her; despite her stoic nature, even Byleth had a soft spot for the furry creatures that roamed the Monastery.<br/>
As if it had heard her very thoughts, a cat scampered past Byleth, taking a moment to rub up against her leg affectionately; without a second thought, Byleth leant down to feed it the scraps from her pockets, but it suddenly ran a foot or so from her.<br/>
Confused, Byleth began to step closer, only for the cat to turn its head as if asking a question. It was incredibly strange, but her curiosity was piqued. Once again she stepped closer, and the cat sped off, stopping to turn once more.<br/>
Though confused, Byleth couldn’t help but follow it, the strangeness of the situation evident; she chased it up past the dormitories, past the knights’ quarters and even past the kitchens, where Byleth was certain it was leading her to. The chase continued across the bridge and down to the steps of the marketplace, where the cat finally stopped.<br/>
It stared up at her with glassy eyes, as if asking for something; Byleth stood silently in confusion, looking around for a food vendor or something that the cat might have been looking to harass, but nobody else was around.<br/>
“There’s nobody here,” Byleth whispered to the cat, “have this.”<br/>
She went again to feed the scraps to the deathly thin animal, but once more it refused, sauntering down the steps and even further from Byleth; towards the weaponry stall.<br/>
Unable to give up now, Byleth continued, hearing the cat scuffle its way into the behind of the stall; the voices of many more cats greeted it as it entered, most likely its litter.<br/>
“Goddess forgive, why did you decide to run off at this time of night?!”<br/>
A human voice.<br/>
It was evidently fatigued and rather catlike, but still human.<br/>
Byleth tried to be as quiet as she could; usually she’d simply deal with them like she would an enemy, but somehow, this person didn’t sound like a threat. It wasn’t exactly common for enemies of Garreg Mach to reprimand a cat of all things for being tardy, after all.<br/>
“Yes, your mother’s here now,” the voice hissed in an attempt to be soothing, “go to sleep. I’ll keep us all safe tonight.”<br/>
A soft laugh followed; feminine, but rough. It was a girl behind there.<br/>
The clattering of metal on concrete was deafening in the once bleak silence, but it was enough to tell Byleth that she had to make a decision here.<br/>
Hide, or greet this person? She knew nothing about them; they could potentially be a threat to the Church, or—<br/>
“Aieeee--!!”<br/>
A surprised, angry-looking figure emerged from behind the stall; their face was almost completely shrouded in a hood, and they wore uncomfortable looking armour from head to toe. Nothing else was really visible, outside of the glaive in her left hand.<br/>
“S-state your name, intruder,” the shadow whisper-yelled, pressing the tip of the sharp weapon to Byleth’s neck, “and state why you’re disturbing me, too!”<br/>
“Byleth Eisner,” Byleth said calmly, “I was taking a walk.”<br/>
“And what kind of self-respecting person is walking around at this hour?!” she shot back, still not removing her glaive from Byleth.<br/>
Byleth shrugged, “I don’t know.”<br/>
“N-not a woman of many words, are you?!” she exclaimed, smiling venomously, “haha! You’re just a wandering student, aren’t you?! Scared of a Knight of—“<br/>
“I’m a professor.”<br/>
The girl laughed awkwardly, her laughter soon turning hysterical as she shook violently.<br/>
“Oh! Haha, that’s…that’s funny!” she stumbled over her words, still trying to seem authoritative, “educational staff are…um…Ihavetogonow!”<br/>
She shot off back behind her stall, obviously hoping that Byleth would leave; she didn’t, of course.<br/>
A minute passed.<br/>
Three minutes.<br/>
Five minutes.<br/>
“Y-you’re still there, aren’t you?!” she stuttered out, clanking when she moved even slightly, “go to bed! Don’t you have a class to teach in the morning?! Leave me alone!”<br/>
Without a word, Byleth ushered herself into the same spot behind the stall; and was taken aback by what she saw behind it.<br/>
Self-made cat food, likely stolen blankets for them to rest on…and a small litter of kittens being nursed by their mother. A backpack sat idly there, filled with who knows what, and beside it was the girl.<br/>
“I—who gave you permission to come here?!” She tried to exclaim, though it came across more as fear, “please. Go to bed.”<br/>
Her tone was softer now, more akin to begging that forcing Byleth to leave; but she couldn’t. Not now.<br/>
“How long have you been here?” she asked, finally getting a better look at the girl’s hazel eyes and freckled face.<br/>
“About two weeks,” she admitted, hugging her knees, “when I’m not working, I help these cats. I don’t really like talking to people, so this is what I do.”<br/>
“Working?”<br/>
“I was recommended as a Knight of Seiros,” she explained, blushing a little, “I…used to be the captain for my country’s guard, but…the king to be doesn’t like me. So Rhea let me in.”<br/>
“Do you know Rhea well?”<br/>
“Goddess, these questions never end,” she laughed solemnly, shaking her head, “but yes, I do, a little bit. Enough for me to be allowed to call her Rhea, but…well, I’m informal with everyone anyway. That, and loud.”<br/>
Byleth nodded, “so why are you hiding all of this?”<br/>
She sighed, “I don’t want people to think I’m soft, you know? Being a knight is all I know, so having that compromised…it’d be worse than death for me.”<br/>
Silence fell, except for the soft sound of cats mewling; the girl sighed, but let it tail off into a laugh.<br/>
“I got a bit personal there, seeing as we don’t know each other,” she chuckled, shaking her head, “hope I didn’t talk too much. I’m…kinda prone to that.”<br/>
“No, you were fine,” Byleth comforted, almost smiling, “but you never gave me your name.”<br/>
“Oh, I’m so stupid,” she groaned, holding her face in her hand, “that should have been the first thing I said. I’m, uh, Avalon von Arcenciel. And don’t you dare call me Ava!”<br/>
Byleth cocked her head, “why?”<br/>
Avalon scowled; “because it’s awful! There’s nothing I hate more than nicknames. Nothing at all!”<br/>
Her hood fell forward again, obscuring her face as she mumbled, “Seriously, Byleth, you should go to sleep. It’ll be past the witching hour soon. You need rest.”<br/>
Feeling far more contented with her efforts now, Byleth relented, leaving with a casual, “good night.”<br/>
Or at least, to her it was casual.<br/>
To Avalon, it was something to smile about as she herself eventually keeled over into dreamland.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Blood of Bandits</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Today was the last day before Byleth and her students would have to set off for Zanado to defeat the bandits Rhea had told them of.<br/>Though her father had said to be apprehensive of the Archbishop, especially as he was disallowed from supporting his daughter on this mission, Byleth was confident that all would be okay; for her, at least. It was her students that worried her; Byleth herself was a toughened ex-mercenary, but her students…not so much. This would be the first time they would ever have to kill to survive and, in turn risk their own lives. <br/>Anxiety was high in the Black Eagle house due to this mission and, after hours of attempting to quell them, Byleth had had to take a few minutes for herself. She was just as stressed as they were, but perhaps her lack of facial emoting made that unclear; so she was piled with questions, queries and fears…she needed to breathe.<br/>She soon found herself in the marketplace, using the salary she’d earned to purchase endless amounts of health items for her students; she’d hate herself if any of them got injured or, Goddess forbid, killed, so she felt this was the best measure she could possibly take outside of refusing to go on Rhea’s mission at all.<br/>Byleth was unfazed by the loud, bustling nature of the marketplace, or even by the yelling stall owners pretty much threatening to rob customers who bought nothing, as this was usual audio for such an area; but she couldn’t help but compare it to the other evening, when it was quite possibly the most serene, peaceful place in all of the monastery.<br/>Suddenly, she thought of Avalon; she glanced casually behind the stall the girl squatted behind, and was relieved to see everything intact there, but she herself was nowhere to be seen.<br/>“What do you mean you’re out of mints?! That’s like…that’s like an apple tree being out of apples! How dare you not—“<br/>Her voice, however, rang out throughout the area. It would be safe to say she was even louder than the sellers’.<br/>“Miss, I’m sorry, but we’re out,” the poor saleswoman begged, “they’ll be back in tomorrow! Tomorrow, I promise!”<br/>“Tomorrow will have to do, then,” Avalon muttered darkly to herself, sulking away from the woman, “what a world we live in…out of mints…”<br/>She bent her head to hide the scowl on her face beneath the shroud, attempting to skulk away into the shadows as quickly as she possibly could, still muttering to herself.<br/>“Avalon.”<br/>“Aieeee--!” she screamed, clapping a hand over her own mouth within seconds to hide her embarrassment, “don’t do that to me, dastard who’s…name escapes me…”<br/>She gestured wildly with her hands, trying to trawl it out of her memory.<br/>“Just call me Professor. That’s more memorable.”<br/>“Fine, then, professor,” she huffed, recoiling out of the darkened wall, “any reason you decided to scare the living daylights out of me, or is that just something you enjoy doing to people?”<br/>Byleth took a solid few seconds to simply stare blankly into her eyes, only deepening Avalon’s scowl; “so, your response to me is to start a staring contest? How very.”<br/>“You’re hard to talk to,” Byleth admitted, “really hard.”<br/>Avalon snorted, “I’M difficult to talk to?! That’s rich, coming from you, Miss Stoic and Silent!”<br/>Byleth sighed, realising that the conversation was going nowhere; she went to walk off, only to have her wrist grabbed.<br/>“Wait, I just remembered you,” Avalon exclaimed, a proud expression on her once sour face, “you teach the Black Eagles, isn’t that right?”<br/>Byleth nodded curtly, pretending not to notice the cold, armoured hand around her wrist.<br/>“So, you’re on a great trip to Zanado in a few weeks?” Avalon enquired, actually looking interested, “unlucky for you. That place creeps me out.”<br/>Byleth turned her head a little, “why?”<br/>“Because it just does!” Avalon exclaimed, clutching her shoulders, “a place of a tragedy…I feel like the spirits are dragging blades down my spine whenever I visit.”<br/>Byleth nodded, “my students feel the same.”<br/>“They do, do they?” Avalon queried, more to herself than anything else, “huh. How very. I took the students in that class for nothing more than the Empress-to-be’s personal bootlickers. It appears I was incorrect?”<br/>“Very much so!”<br/>With no prior warning whatsoever, the white-haired house leader appeared, quite obviously offended.<br/>“Speak the devil’s name and she doth appear,” Avalon snickered, readjusting her hood, “well then, Professor, I shall leave you to tend to the kiddies. Have fun!”<br/>“Kiddies? You’re incredibly disrespectful,” Edelgard spat, moments from strangling the hooded demon, “I’ll have you know that we—“<br/>“Yeah, yeah, your princessliness,” Avalon smirked, flouncing quickly off, “think whatever you want!”<br/>And with that, she was gone; disappeared into the monastery, as usual.<br/>“Do you often talk to this…this awful woman, Professor?” Edelgard demanded, letting her hands rest menacingly on her hips.<br/>“No,” Byleth replied, calmly and curtly, “she hides, mostly.”<br/>“As she should,” Edelgard muttered, sighing, “well then, my teacher. We have places to be.”<br/>“Mm.”<br/>Much as Avalon had, the two disappeared up the stairs, followed by nothing but the eyes of the shadows. <br/>Nobody but the dark.<br/>~<br/>The turning of pages was oddly loud when nobody was around; loud, but comforting. It gave something for the mind to focus on.<br/>No singing. No shy whining. No…Edelgard. Just the pleasant sound of the ancient pages of a tome; the tome that finally, finally leapt from fiction to reality.<br/>If she weren’t so stony-faced, she would have cried; this woman was why she lived. Why she was born unto Fodlan to begin with. She had always known that.<br/>A silent shadow crept from the Black Eagle classroom, drowning in the darkness outside as hint of a smile graced her face. The grass was cold and wet against her uniform. It was going to stain.<br/>But she could remove any stain…even those of the heart.<br/>Hands clasped together in prayer.<br/>Eyes closed in remembrance.<br/>Soft flesh sunk into the plain.<br/>Now was the time. Now was the time. Now was the time.<br/>Finally, the only one who could save her had returned.<br/>She held her tome closer, becoming one with the cool feeling of her surroundings.<br/>The stars shone brightly; Sirius and Orion and Taurus. Those were constellations she could name, but were they in the sky tonight?<br/>It mattered little what was in the sky.<br/>What mattered was what walked upon the Earth; demons, angels…her.<br/>“For so many years, I have prayed,” a shaky voice rasped out, “never did I expect a response. Is…is this what happiness is, Goddess?”<br/>Tears only further wetted the mud. She was surely disgustingly dirty by now.<br/>But that was all physical.<br/>For her soul was clean; it had to be.<br/>For her.<br/>All for her.<br/>A smile.<br/>“Thank you.”<br/>Suddenly, the gentle light of a hand lantern snapped her out of the trance she had trapped herself in.<br/>Shooting up from the grass at the speed of sound, she disappeared once more into the shadows, her tome held close.<br/>“Strange, I was sure I saw someone sitting here,” the guard spoke to himself, bewildered, “perhaps…yes, I must just be tired. It’s time to get someone else to fill in this night duty stuff…”<br/>A soft laugh filled his ears, and he jumped; the lantern shattered on the concrete of the dormitory exterior.<br/>With fear racking his body, the guard sped off, surely telling some tall tale of a ghost.<br/>Perhaps it was.<br/>It wasn’t as if he’d ever know the truth.<br/>“Thank you, Goddess.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Mutiny and the Maiden</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Though the weather was nice today and all was seemingly calm, Byleth couldn’t help but feel a little…spied on, to say the least.<br/>Ever since his last confrontation with Avalon, she’d had the strange feeling that somebody had been keeping an eye on her; perhaps it was a student, or even…<br/>No, not possible.<br/>Byleth shook her head, passing it off as just some extra anxiety after their last mission. It wasn’t pleasant to have to see her students kill for the first time, but…it was a necessity, so she tried to worry as little as she could about it.<br/>She continued on her stroll past the dormitories, making sure to do her daily knocking of Bernadetta’s door (just to make sure the poor girl was okay) as she went past, breathing in the early morning air.<br/>Atop the stairs stood two knights, neither of which Byleth recognised, but one appeared to be shaking. He didn’t look anywhere near alright, but the one beside him seemed to be refuting his cries of fear.<br/>“I-I’m certain of it, I saw a little girl’s ghost on the lawn,” he pointed vaguely behind Byleth, his arm jittery as he did so, “she had dark hair, a-and this really ancient looking book…but she disappeared as soon as I—“<br/>“Nobody but you believes in all of that supernatural stuff, Jeremiah,” his companion grumbled, looking disappointed, “I bet it was just a student out of bed. That’s all.”<br/>“B-b-but she looked so terrifying!” Jeremiah exclaimed, hugging himself, “she almost blended into the darkness…I’m certain that couldn’t have been a student! And her laugh—“<br/>“All of these young girls have annoying little giggles,” his friend sighed, turning from Jeremiah, “you’re seeing things. I have better things to do, man. I’ll see you around.”<br/>“I—wait!”<br/>He stumbled over his feet, falling dramatically forward in a din of metallic failure.<br/>“You there, don’t you have something better to do than watch me embarrass myself?”<br/>Byleth cocked her head, making sure he was addressing her.<br/>“Yes, you!” he exclaimed, groaning, “you heard everything, didn’t you? And now you’re here to torture me…”<br/>“No, I’m just standing here,” Byleth said bluntly, “what were you saying about ghosts?”<br/>Jeremiah huffed, “don’t. I know what you’re doing.”<br/>“I don’t?”<br/>He rolled his eyes, “fine then. I saw a girl, short with dark hair, sitting just behind where you’re standing, clutching a tome at the witching hours of last night. I’m quite certain she wasn’t…alive.”<br/>A shiver crept through him, and the metallic clanking was evidence that he was trying to move, but…<br/>“Um…I’m kind of stuck here. Could you…?”<br/>Byleth nodded, swiftly climbing the stairs and easily righting his incredible armoured weight.<br/>He sighed with relief, “thanks. Don’t know what the squadron would have said if they’d found me like that!”<br/>Byleth nodded, finding the man quite charming, now that she saw his face.<br/>Much like Avalon, he was riddled with freckles and had the most impressive head of curls Byleth had ever set eyes on.<br/>He grinned, saying, “well, I guess I’ll have to be nice, now you’ve helped me. What’s your name, friend?”<br/>“Byleth.”<br/>He nodded, “oh! The professor! Nice to meet you. I’m Jeremiah, and I’m just a guard for this place that- whoa!”<br/>Byleth was lucky enough to catch him before he hit the ground.<br/>He chuckled, “I apologise for my clumsiness. I’m…like that, you know?”<br/>“I can see.”<br/>Jeremiah readjusted his hair as he laughed, “so, you’re heading out to fight Lord Lonato soon, are you? I heard about the uprising.”<br/>“Mm, that’s right.” Byleth responded.<br/>“Not a woman of many words, are ya, Byleth?” Jeremiah enquired, swinging his arms back and forth absentmindedly, “no problem! Less words means less opportunity to tease me, so it’s all peachy!”<br/>Byleth couldn’t help but crack the tiniest of smiles. Jeremiah was adorable.<br/>“But for real, aren’t you worried about this kind of thing?” Jeremiah asked innocently, shaking a little again, “I’d be terrified to slay some Lord, even if it was for…a school…subject?”<br/>“Aren’t you a knight?” Byleth queried, confused by his fearfulness.<br/>“Only in title, ma’am,” he sort of giggled, “my true calling is poetry! I write it all the time! Would you like to—“<br/>“Jeremiah! Did you forget about our mission? Come on!”<br/>The other knight from earlier grabbed him by the scruff of his armour, leaving him able only to wave and chirp a precious little, “see you around, Professor Byleth!”<br/>Her day had truly been brightened by that knight, Byleth thought to herself as she walked off; only to be surprised by the sudden sound of a door opening.<br/>“P-professor? W-w-what was that man saying about ghosts?!”<br/>Byleth sighed, “he was imagining things.”<br/>“A-a-are you sure? Because…because the description he gave…I think I’ve seen her, too! Eek!”<br/>Byleth turned her head, “what description?”<br/>“D-dark haired, short, carries a book…yes, I’ve d-d-definitely seen someone like that!”<br/>Byleth sighed, making Bernadetta squeal, “you don’t believe it, do you?! I-I’m just going to…hide away in here, so n-no ghosts can get in!”<br/>And with that, she closed the door.<br/>Byleth was left stumped; more than one person had seen a supposed “ghost” matching that description, so there was a possibility they were conferring…no, it was Bernadetta of all people, she wouldn’t be conferring. So why…she decided to let the topic go, instead choosing to clear her mind over some fishing.<br/>In the mere half hour she had been talking to Jeremiah, the sun had begun to hide behind the clouds, casting a shadow over the place where Byleth sat.<br/>Most students had sauntered back in, sure that there would be rain soon, but…that feeling of being watched was still there. It was chilling, and incredibly difficult to ignore.<br/>There were few fish today. The water seemed bereft of anything, Byleth soon realised; but somehow, she didn’t feel as if she could move. <br/>The shadows felt suffocating, as if someone were standing within them, casting an aura that swallowed all…<br/>A soft sneeze.<br/>Somebody was there.<br/>Byleth whipped around, expecting to see a student or someone like that, but nothing; nothing but the cold, dark shadows, and a distant sound of a soft, effeminate voice.<br/>She shook her head.<br/>The talk of ghosts had probably just made her paranoid.<br/>Finally, she mustered the motivation to move, and left the lake far quicker than she usually did, retiring to her quarters for a while; but even then…<br/>She didn’t feel alone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Goddess grants us Reprieve</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A strange feeling filled the air. Somehow, Byleth felt uneasy.<br/>Bernadetta and Jeremiah had both been whimpering of the supposed “ghost girl” again, and with that on top of the information Catherine had gleaned a month prior about Rhea…nothing felt quite right. The rainy weather might also have been a factor, as the lack of laughing students on the lawns made the whole monastery seem rather dead; that, in itself, was strange, but…she knew that her own students were likely flocking near the Holy Mausoleum, waiting patiently for the day that they could enter.<br/>Realising this, Byleth was suddenly struck with the want to visit the cathedral, which wasn’t a want she got frequently; despite teaching at the monastery, the professor didn’t regard herself as especially devout to the Seiros faith.<br/>Still, she muddled her way over there in the rain, only to find few students were there, either; the frequent visitors, Marianne and Mercedes, were there but very little in the way of familiar faces were there outside of those two. <br/>“Professor!”<br/>Mercedes called out, smiling as she beckoned the professor to her.<br/>“Good morning, Mercedes.”<br/>“Have you come here to pray?” she beamed, a joy to be around as usual, “we can together, if you want to!”<br/>Unable to refuse her, Byleth agreed; it felt rather therapeutic to be able to foist her problems off on a deity as opposed to internalising them for once.<br/>But it wasn’t the prayer that stuck in Byleth’s memory; it was the figure.<br/>Stood alone in the shadowy doorway was a short, seemingly dark haired figure; though there was no tome in her hands, the blank, long stare focused entirely on Byleth was proof enough that this was the girl terrifying staff and students alike.<br/>“Professor? Are you alright?” Mercedes asked, her hand gently pressed to her professor’s shoulder, “you look like you saw a ghost!”<br/>I did, Byleth wanted to say, but she kept it to herself.<br/>“I’m okay. Don’t worry.”<br/>Mercedes nodded, saying quickly, “oh, I completely forgot, I was supposed to meet up with Annie! I’ll see you soon, professor!”<br/>Byleth bid her farewell, though she was sad to say that wasn’t what her efforts were focused on.<br/>That focus would be on the corner.<br/>Wordlessly, the figure held out a hand, obviously beckoning Byleth closer; she did so, finally able to make out her face.<br/>Her eyes were dark, too, like endless pools of insufferable ink, and her uniform’s skirt was far longer than any student she could think of; but she was wearing a uniform, and she appeared to be corporeal.<br/>“Thank you.”<br/>Byleth was confused, “what?”<br/>“I thanked you,” she said curtly, clasping her hands over her chest, “that is what you say to people who have done right. And that you have, Professor.”<br/>Whatever she was on about went completely over Byleth’s head; once more she enquired, “what?”<br/>The girl tittered gently, bowing her head, “one thing at a time, professor.”<br/>She breezed gently away and, despite her slow speed, soon disappeared again; no amount of calling could bring her back.<br/>The professor let out a sigh, still unsure of what was going on; but from the shadows that swallowed that girl, came one with a far lighter aesthetic.<br/>“Professor, are you quite alright?” Edelgard enquired, looking more irritated than genuinely worried, “we have a mission to prepare for, and here you are, wasting away the hours!”<br/>Byleth shook her head, “I’m looking for someone.”<br/>“Oh? And who would that be?” Edelgard asked sarcastically, “for our class is already gathered in the Knights’ Quarters, as you asked.”<br/>Once again Byleth shook her head, “I’ve never seen her before.”<br/>“How strange,” Edelgard stated, finally sounding somewhat intrigued, “could you describe her? Quickly, if possible.”<br/>“Dark features. Dark hair. Stoic.”<br/>“Professor, that would be Hubert,” Edelgard sighed, shaking her head, “you were seeing things. Come—“<br/>“Leave my friend be! She is very much correct!”<br/>Edelgard very nearly fell over herself as the clumsy knight barrelled in, beaming; “it was her again! The ghost! I’m betting she was let out of the Holy Mausoleum, and—“<br/>“I have no idea of who you are, but I can tell you now that you are seeing things!” Edelgard exclaimed annoyedly, “Professor, you were hallucinating! Come along, please!”<br/>Byleth turned her head sheepishly to Jeremiah; he was quick to catch on.<br/>“A girl with features that dark, such a terrifying looking book and a laugh like hers can only be a ghost,” Jeremiah said firmly, “there was no cutesy girlishness there at all! She was—“<br/>Edelgard sighed, “I think I know the girl you’re on about, but…I’ll only divulge her name if you and the professor both give up on this ghost idea!”<br/>Jeremiah and Byleth looked at one another, both deciding on a synchronized nod of approval.<br/>“Her name is Claramond Raerin, and her homeland is a suzerainty of the Empire,” Edelgard stated matter-of-factly, “she dislikes speaking, and people in general, so she’s prone to scaring them by accident. And she’s rather obsessive about that tome she carries. There, does that answer it?”<br/>Byleth nodded a yes, while Jeremiah simply stood there spellbound.<br/>“The…g-g-ghost has a name?!” he squeaked, shivering in fear as he pretty much clung to Byleth.<br/>With a final sigh, Edelgard pried her teacher out of the knight’s surprisingly strong grip, firmly reminding her that they had a lesson to attend; and Jeremiah was left there, alone, in the corner where the ghost stood…<br/>He had never been more petrified in all of his years of living!<br/>His life, his work he’d strived so hard for, all brought to an end by a ghost donning the garb of Garreg Mach!<br/>~<br/>“Professor, I apologise if I was curt earlier,” Edelgard spoke softly, somewhat tired after her training for the day (swinging an axe for hours was far from easy), “it’s just that…it’s silly, calling a poor girl a ghost.”<br/>“Mm,” Byleth agreed, staring off blankly, “she is ghostlike, though.”<br/>Edelgard nodded, albeit sadly, “I’m aware. She rarely even attends lessons, and trains alone…many of the staff don’t even know she’s here. I don’t know if it’s shyness or just her nature, but…I sometimes wish I could speak with her, though I’m aware she abhors me.”<br/>“Why’s that?”<br/>“I—I’m not sure,” Edelgard stumbled, “but that expression on her face on the rare occasions I do see her says it all.”<br/>Byleth thought for a moment; “I saw her in the Cathedral. Not really a scary place to see a girl.”<br/>Edelgard’s eyes widened, “the Cathedral?! I was certain she did her prayers alone—how very odd…”<br/>“Perhaps she made friends with one of the other students there.”<br/>“Unlikely,” Edelgard refuted, “it isn’t just me she dislikes. It’s the Black Eagle house as a whole, as well as the majority of the rest of the school. She’s not the most trusting of people.”<br/>“You seem to know a lot about her.”<br/>“She used to tag along with her father when they visited the Empire,” Edelgard smiled gently, as if reminiscing, “but she wasn’t so…scary back then. On the contrary; she was a rather approachable child.”<br/>“How strange.”<br/>“It is,” Edelgard said, her head resting on one hand, “please tell me if you see her again, Professor. I wish to…speak with her.”<br/>Byleth nodded, allowing Dorothea to take her place to chat with Edelgard; the even more confused professor took a silent moment to herself.<br/>Claramond Raerin. She penned the name to memory; somehow, she was certain she’d need it.</p>
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